Page 70 of Nightshade

I woke up alone, no knock on the door this time.

Leo had full days, and I’d been keeping him awake longer than he needed to be. But if he really wanted me to stay, and I actually thought that I should dig in here and try to force Ivan back with the help of the wolves, then I needed to find some way to contribute to the effort of stopping him.

And I needed to make some plan if we failed.

The wolves could fight him. I needed them prepared for what that meant, and to put up a real threat so that, if it came down to it, I’d have something to negotiate with.

If it meant saving the pack, I could . . .

I’d hand myself over before I saw them hurt. Henry had worked to save me, and Katya had been so kind, and Evie was more generous than anyone had ever been.

And then there was Leo, who was all those things and more. I couldn’t see him hurt because of me. All I could think about was his strong arms wrapped around me, the warmth of his skin against mine, the way his breath hitched when I kissed him, and yes, how his blood flowed with every heartbeat.

He’d given me so much, so freely, and if that was all I ever got in the world, I wouldn’t see him repaid with pain and suffering.

I wished that I could do more than try and hedge my bets, but until Ivan was taken out, the best thing was for me to stay out of it. That didn’t mean that I couldn’t try and prepare them, though, and I’d had an inkling that the best way to accomplish that was to go to Viktor before the witches had attacked.

Nothing had changed since I’d thought to do so the day before. Viktor was still the wolf most willing do to what was necessary, and he alone knew what we were dealing with. He knew Ivan, was afraid, and could perhaps prepare the others.

Clearly, he knew how to fight, which was a skill I lacked entirely.

I found Katya reading in the living room, and she smiled up at me when I got downstairs.

“Is Viktor around?”

A tiny frown crossed her features, and I wondered if she thought it was a bad idea for me to approach him.

It was only a second before she tipped her head to the side and her expression went neutral again.

“We have a guest,” she said. “Viktor and Aleks picked up a friend, a mage who works with our sister pack out west.”

“The Crescent wolves?”

“Mmhmm.” She smiled. “She was travelling to the east coast for work anyway—apparently the majority of the mages in America are still settled in the northeast. But when we told her about the trouble we’ve been facing, she agreed to stop here to see if she could help us navigate it.”

I perched on the edge of the couch. “Does she know much about vampires?”

Katya shrugged. “Prudence is very smart. Sells books through the Crescent pack’s business. She certainly knows more than any of us. The boys are out there with her now, talking on the porch.”

I nodded, my nose flaring as I breathed in, like I could smell them out there. I didn’t have a werewolf’s senses though.

“Not Leo though. He’s been working with Cash all day.”

My heart dropped a little when she said that. It would have been easier to talk to Viktor—hells, to talk to a stranger and a mage—if Leo were nearby, but I’d manage.

Well, probably.

I pinched my clasped hands between my knees. “Do you think I could interrupt them?”

Katya’s smile softened. “Of course. I can’t imagine an actual vampire providing his perspective to the conversation would be unwelcome.”

I managed not to laugh. Viktor didn’t want me there, but the best thing that I could do was pretend that this was normal and show him that I meant to help—as hard as that would be, given that none of the people he loved would be in this position if it weren’t for me.

I nodded. “Then I’ll . . . go introduce myself to, um . . . ”

“To Prudence.”

“Right. Thanks.”